I started this blog in 2009 to document what I ate, what I read, and how much I ran leading up to the NYC marathon. While I did manage to drag myself over the finish line, I have since decided I am not a marathon runner. I have also decided that while running, food, and reading are no longer the centre of my life, they remain an integral part of helping me centre and appreciate my life. They help me realize that it's not that serious...

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Sunday, May 1, 2011

My mortal enemy: A common Toronto House Spider.
On a typical day, I would squish this sucker.
But not today.
Today, I do not need any bad luck.

So its Sunday morning I’m in my kitchen and waking up along with the sun while eating my steel-cut oats, sipping my coffee, and compulsively checking the weather report.In other words, a typical morning.Or to be more precise, a typical race-day morning.You see, this has been my routine for the last 7 years, the number of years I have been running in road races. But this year is different.Because, you see, after over 10 races, ranging from 5k’s to full marathons (and if you don’t believe me, you can check my sportsstats here) this is the first race that I am not at all trained for…I think.

Every other year, I run, a bit, on the treadmill all winter long, and then as soon as the warmer weather in March hits, I hit the streets.I do an average of about 3-5k for a while and then, in the two weeks before the Sporting Life 10k (which, btw, was my very first race), I do a couple 8’s, a 10 and declare myself good to go. And I am.

This is where things get interesting because this year it has been a brutal spring.There have only been a handful of days that have been warm enough to run (in case you don’t remember, I have cold-weather induced asthma which means I can’t run outside when it is below 5 Celsius) and within that handful, there is an even smaller handful of days that have allowed me the time to run.The most I have run is almost 7k on Friday.I’m screwed.

Except…

This winter I have done more cross-training than ever.I do yoga once a week (which I love), I walk outside every day, I do abs (got me a two-pack!), speed intervals on the treadmill instead of trying to mimic a long run, and a crapload of stretching.And remarkably, I found that when I did start running outside again (as pathetic as it was), I was pretty well trained; I didn’t have that usual fatigue in my calves that tell me that I need to get used to not be propelled by a treadmill anymore and not a sore quad muscle in sight the day after a long(ish—and I stress the ish) run.

Is it possible that I will be able to run today?

We will see…

Wish me luck!

PS.If you are reading this anytime after about 11am this morning, you can check my results here.Look up Adele Chester (my alias when running).I could tell you that I stole the number from a woman in a higher age category from me in a feeble attempt to make my finishing stats appear better but in reality, my good friend, Adele allowed me to run with her number since she is now a permanent member of that famous rock group, The IT Band Injury, of which I was inducted after the 2009 NY marathon.I hope I do you proud, sister!